Multimedia message service apparatus

ABSTRACT

A system that services international multimedia message calls includes an MMSC that determines from the destination MSISDN of the header of a multimedia message that the call is an international transmission and, at the same time, determines whether or not the forwarding destination supports number portability, by referencing the MSISDN routing table. If number portability is supported, it acquires the IMSI corresponding to the destination MSISDN by inquiring the HLR. Next, the MMSC acquires the domain name of the MMSE of the forwarding destination by referencing the IMSI routing table from the IMSI that has thus been acquired and forwards the multimedia message to this MMSE. If number portability is not supported, it forwards the multimedia message to the MMSE of the domain name acquired by referencing the MSISDN routing table.

This application is the U.S. National Phase under 35 U.S.C.§371 ofInternational Application PCT/JP 2004/003865, filed on Mar. 22, 2004,which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-128739,filed on May 7, 2003. The International Application was published underPCT Article 21(2) in a language other than English.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a multimedia message service apparatuswhereby multimedia messages can be transmitted internationally.

BACKGROUND ART

The latest mobile telephone systems make possible transmission andreception of multimedia messages including static images, video andmusic. Such multimedia messages can be exchanged between mobiletelephones that are equipped to deal with multimedia messages and arecapable of transmitting and receiving multimedia messages through theInternet.

Previously, however, only domestic operators have been available forforwarding multimedia messages, so it has not been possible to sendmultimedia messages internationally.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a multimediamessage service apparatus capable of transmitting multimedia messagesinternationally.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the above object, a multimedia message serviceapparatus according to the present invention comprises: first decisionmeans that, when receiving a multimedia message that has beentransmitted, references an international prefix table to decide whetheror not the message is to be transmitted internationally to theforwarding destination, based on transmission destination information inthe multimedia message; second decision means that, if the firstdecision means decides that the message is to be transmitted to theforwarding destination, references a first routing table based on thetransmission destination information to decide whether or not theforwarding destination supports number portability; first acquisitionmeans that, if the second decision means decides that the forwardingdestination does not support number portability, acquires the domainname of the forwarding destination from the transmission destinationinformation by referencing the first routing table; second acquisitionmeans that, if the second decision means decides that the forwardingdestination does support number portability, acquires internationalidentification information corresponding to the transmission destinationinformation by inquiring registration means that registers subscriberdata and acquires the domain name of the forwarding destination byreferencing the second routing table based on the internationalidentification information that has thus been acquired; and forwardingmeans that forwards the multimedia message to the forwarding destinationof the domain name that has been acquired by the first acquisition meansor the second acquisition means.

Also, in the multimedia message service apparatus according to thepresent invention, that the first routing table may comprise informationincluding the country code and the domain name of each operatorspecified by the operator code and information as to whether or notnumber portability is supported and the second decision means decideswhether or not the forwarding destination operator supports numberportability by searching the first routing table using as keys thecountry code information and operator code information in thetransmission destination information.

Furthermore, in multimedia message service apparatus according to thepresent invention, that the first acquisition means may acquire thedomain name of the forwarding destination from the country codeinformation and operator code information in the transmissiondestination information.

Yet further, in multimedia message service apparatus according to thepresent invention, the second routing table comprises domain nameinformation for each of the operators specified by the country codeinformation and operator information and the second acquisition meansacquires the forwarding destination domain name by searching the secondrouting table using as keys information identifying the country andinformation identifying the operator in the international identificationinformation.

According to the present invention, when a call is identified as aninternational transmission, a decision is made as to whether or not theforwarding destination supports number portability. This is because, ifthe forwarding destination supports number portability, the forwardingdestination cannot be uniquely determined from for example the telephonenumber constituting the transmission information in the command.Accordingly, if the forwarding destination supports number portability,it is arranged for the international identification informationcorresponding to the transmission destination information in themultimedia message to be acquired by inquiry and for the forwardingdestination to be determined from this acquired internationalidentification information. Also, if the forwarding destination does notsupport number portability, it is arranged for the forwardingdestination to be determined from the transmission destinationinformation. In this way, international transmission of a multimediamessage can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing diagrammatically a communication networkincorporating a multimedia message service apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of an international prefix table ina multimedia message service apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of an MSISDN routing table in amultimedia message service apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an IMSI routing table in amultimedia message service apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of the definition of address form ina multimedia message service apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a communication network incorporating amultimedia message service apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. Hereinbelow, an MMSC (Multimedia Messaging ServiceCenter) 11 constituting a multimedia message service apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIG. 1.

In the communication network shown in FIG. 1, a mobile telephone 10, forexample a mobile telephone, is assumed to be transmitting a multimediamessage. When the mobile telephone 10 transmits the multimedia message,the mobile telephone 10 transmits an M-Send request command,constituting a request to transmit a multimedia message. The MMSC 11that receives this M-send request command sends an M-Send responsecommand to the mobile telephone 10 and the mobile telephone 10 transmitsits multimedia message to the MMSC 11 in response thereto. The MMSC 11that has received this multimedia message specifies the MMSE (MultimediaMessaging Service Environment) of the forwarding destination to whichthe multimedia message is to be transferred from the destination MSISDN(Mobile Station ISDN number) in the multimedia message header. For theMMSE, apparatus of the same type as the MMSC 11 is specified.

In specifying the forwarding destination MMSE, first of all the MMSC 11decides whether the destination MSISDN is an international transmissionor not by searching the international prefix table 12 with the entry inthe column representing the destination MSISDN prefix in the header ofthe multimedia message. The MSISDN is the mobile subscriber number thatis allocated to the mobile telephone. An example of an internationalprefix table 12 is shown in FIG. 2; in this international prefix table12 there are defined three types of international transmission MSISDNprefix, namely, “+”, “00”, and “010”. At this point, if the MMSC 11decides that the destination MSISDN is not an internationaltransmission, the MMSC 11 forwards the multimedia message to the MMSE ofanother, domestic, operator that is uniquely determined from thedestination MSISDN. Also, if it is concluded from the destination MSISDNthat the relevant MMSE is the MMSC 11, since the destination address isfound to be local, the MMSC 11 forwards the multimedia message to themobile telephone corresponding to the destination MSISDN.

On the other hand, if the MMSC 11 finds that the destination MSISDNprefix is one or other of “+”, “00” or “010” and that the destinationMSISDN is thus an international transmission, the MMSC 11 determines, bysearching the MSISDN routing table 13 using as keys the country numberand operator code constituted by a few columns at the head of the MSISDNwhether or not the operator to which the destination MSISDN belongssupports MNP (Mobile Number Portability). MNP indicates a system wherebythe mobile subscriber number that is allocated to a mobile telephone(MSISDN) is unchanged even though the operator to which the mobiletelephone is subscribed is changed. Specifically, if MNP is supported,the MSISDN number is carried over when the operator to which the mobiletelephone is subscribed is changed. Thus, in the case of a mobiletelephone belonging to an operator that supports MNP, there is a riskthat this number might be carried over to another operator; it istherefore not possible to uniquely specify the relevant operator fromthe MSISDN. Also, since an MMSE is established for each operator, theMMSE that is to forward the multimedia message cannot be specifieduniquely from the destination MSISDN. It is therefore necessary toascertain whether or not the operator in question supports MNP.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an MSISDN routing table 13. The MSISDNrouting table 13 comprises MNP support information for each operatorthat is specified by the operator code and country code or for eachcountry that is specified by the country code. In the case of operatorsthat do not support MNP, the domain name information is entered in theTable. For example, in the case of country code “353”, the operatorspecified by the operator code “87” does not support MNP and its domainname is “mmse.xxxx.je”. Also, in the case of the country code “82”, theoperator specified by the operator code “16” does not support MNP andits domain name is “mmse.xxxx.kr”. Also, in the case of the countryspecified by the country code “44”, all of the operators in that countrysupport MNP. Further, in the case of the country code “972”, theoperator specified by the operator code “55” prohibits forwarding ofmultimedia messages.

As a result of referencing the MSISDN routing table 13 by the MMSC 11 inthis way, if it is determined that the operator specified from thedestination MSISDN supports MNP, the MMSC 11 generates aSendRoutingInfoForSM (SRI-for-SM) request from the destination MSISDN,and sends this to the HLR 15. This request is transmitted through theHLR interface (HLR I/F) 11 a of the MMSC 11 and the common channelsignaling network 14 for control signals, and received by the HLR 15.The HLR 15 finds the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity),which is an international identification number that is allocated to thesubscriber of a mobile telephone from the MSISDN included in theSRI-for-SM request that is received, and issues an SRI-for-SM responseincluding the IMSI. The IMSI comprises the MCC (Mobile Country Code),which is a code that identifies the country to which the mobiletelephone belongs, the MNC (Mobile Network Code), which is a mobiletelephone network code that identifies the operator, and MSIN (MobileSubscriber Identification Number), which is a code that identifies thesubscriber.

The SRI-for-SM response that is generated by the HLR 15 is received bythe MMSC 11 through the common signaling channel network 14 and HLR I/F11 a. The MMSC 11 obtains the MNC, which is the mobile telephone networkcode that identifies the operator and MCC, which is a code thatidentifies the country to which the destination mobile telephonebelongs, from the IMSI included in the received SRI-for-SM response andsearches the IMSI routing table 16 using the MCC and MNC as keys toacquire the domain name of the forwarding destination MMSE. FIG. 4 showsan example of an IMSI routing table 16. The IMSI routing table comprisescategorized information as to whether or not forwarding of a multimediamessage is permitted, for each operator specified by the MMC and MNC,and domain name information of the MMSE of the operators in question. Ifthe domain name that is thus acquired is MMSE 18, the MMSC 11 issues anMM4_forward.req command, which is a request to forward a multimediamessage, to the MMSE 18, and, on receipt of an MM4_forward responsecommand from the MMSE 18, forwards the multimedia message to the MMSE18. These commands and multimedia messages are exchanged through the IPnetwork 17.

Also, if, as a result of the MMSC 11 searching the MSISDN routing table13 as shown in FIG. 3 using as keys the country code and operator codeconstituting the first few columns of the MSISDN, it is found that theoperator that is specified from the destination MSISDN does not supportMNP, the relevant operator can be uniquely specified from thedestination MSISDN. Specifically, the domain name of the forwardingdestination MMSE is acquired by searching the MSISDN routing table 13 asshown in FIG. 3 using as keys the country code and operator code. If thedomain name that is thus acquired is MMSE 18, the MMSC 11 issues anMM4_forward request command constituting a request for forwarding of themultimedia message to the MMSE 18 and, on receipt of an MM4_forwardresponse command from the MMSE 18 forwards the multimedia message to theMMSE 18. These commands and multimedia messages are exchanged throughthe IP network 17.

It should be noted that, if the operator that is specified from thecountry code and operator code of the destination MSISDN prohibitsforwarding of multimedia messages, or if the operator that is specifiedby the MCC and MNC in IMSI prohibits forwarding of multimedia messages,an error message to that effect is transmitted by the MMSC 11 to themobile telephone 10.

As described above, if the MMSC 11 constituting the multimedia messageservice apparatus according to the present invention concludes that thedestination of the multimedia message is an MSISDN beginning with aninternational prefix, it determines the forwarding destination based onthis MSISDN as described above and transmits the multimedia message tothe destination MMSE. The origination/destination addresses in theheader are then set as follows.

(1) “From:” the address is set by converting the MSISDN obtained oncertification of the originator to the following form. “PLMN” (PublicLand Mobile Network) indicates the public land mobile network i.e.mobile telephone network.

“+” international number “/TYPE=PLMN”

(example: +819012345678/TYPE=PLMN)

(2) “To:” the address is set by converting the value obtained from theoriginating mobile telephone to the following form.

“+” international number “/TYPE=PLMN”

(example: +35841234567/TYPE=PLMN)

Let us assume as the form of address that is employed an address inwhich the forwarding source/forwarding destination domain names areadded to the address that is thus set. Specifically, theorigination/destination address that is set in “MAIL FROM:” and “RCPTTO:” in SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), which is an electronicmail protocol, is for example set as“+819012345678/TYPE=PLMN@mmse.vvvvvvvvv.ne.jp”.

Regarding the form of the address, it should be noted that although theform described above has fixed values, these can be set for eachforwarding destination MMSE. FIG. 5 shows an example of definition of anaddress of such a form. As shown in FIG. 5, in the case of an MMSE whosedomain name is “mmse.xxxx.je”, the form of the address conforms to theE.164 international numbering, which is the international publicelectrical communication number defined in ITU-T Recommendation E.164.For example, if the domestic number is “9012345678”, this is set to theaddress “819012345678” by adding “81”, indicating that this is aninternational number, at the head. Also, in the case of an MMSE ofdomain name “mmse.xxxx.kr”, the form of the address is set in conformitywith E.164 domestic numbering “TYPE=PLMN” with for example a domesticnumber of “9012345678” to give an address of “9012345678/TYPE=PLMN”.Furthermore, in the case of an MMSE of domain name “xxxx.xxxxx.xx” theform of the address is set in accordance with the “0” E.164 domesticnumbering with for example a domestic number of “9012345678” to give anaddress of “09012345678” by the addition of “0” at the head.

Also, the MMSC 11, which is a multimedia message service apparatusaccording to the present invention, on receiving a multimedia messagetransferred from another operator, delivers this to the destinationmobile telephone. Authentication of the incoming transmission mobiletelephone is arranged to be performed by the destination MSISDN thenbeing obtained from the address designated in “RCPT TO:”.

Furthermore, on receipt of a Delivery Report indicating delivery of amultimedia message transferred from another operator, the MMSC 11, whichis a multimedia message service apparatus according to the presentinvention, pushes this to the destination mobile telephone.Authentication of the incoming transmission mobile telephone is thenarranged to be performed by the destination MSISDN then being obtainedfrom the address designated in “RCPT TO:”.

Yet further, the MMSC 11, which is a multimedia message serviceapparatus according to the present invention, transmits to theoriginating operator a delivery report in respect of the multimediamessage delivered to the destination mobile telephone by forwarding fromthe other operator.

The return address is taken as the address specified in “MAIL FROM:”.

Yet further, the MMSC 11, which is a multimedia message serviceapparatus according to the present invention, generates anM-read-orig.ind message from the MM4_read_reply_report.REQ, which is theopening report request message received from another operator, andpushes this to the destination mobile telephone. Authentication of theincoming transmission mobile telephone is then arranged to be performedby the destination MSISDN then being obtained from the addressdesignated in “RCPT TO:”.

Yet further, the MMSC 11, which is a multimedia message serviceapparatus according to the present invention, generates anMM4_read_reply_report.RES, which is the opening report response messagefrom the M-read-rec.ind message received from the mobile telephone towhich the multimedia message was delivered, and transmits this to theoriginating operator.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, a multimedia message service apparatus according tothe present invention is arranged to determine whether or not theforwarding destination supports number portability on identifying aninternational transmission. This is because, if the forwardingdestination supports number portability, it is not possible to uniquelydetermine the forwarding destination from for example the telephonenumber which is the transmission destination information in the command.Accordingly, if the forwarding destination supports number portability,the forwarding destination is arranged to be determined from theinternational identification information acquired by inquiring theinternational identification information corresponding to thetransmission destination information in the multimedia message. Also, ifthe forwarding destination does not support number portability, it isarranged for the forwarding destination to be determined from thetransmission destination information. In this way, a multimedia messagecan be sent internationally.

1. A multimedia message service apparatus, comprising: first decision means that, when receiving a multimedia message that has been transmitted, references an international prefix table to decide whether or not the message is to be transmitted internationally to a forwarding destination, based on transmission destination information in said multimedia message; second decision means that, if the first decision means decides that the message is to be transmitted to the forwarding destination, references a first routing table based on said transmission destination information to decide whether or not the forwarding destination supports number portability; first acquisition means that, if the second decision means decides that the forwarding destination does not support number portability, acquires the domain name of the forwarding destination from said transmission destination information by referencing said first routing table; second acquisition means that, if said second decision means decides that the forwarding destination does support number portability, acquires international identification information corresponding to said transmission destination information by inquiring registration means that registers subscriber data and acquires the domain name of the forwarding destination by referencing a second routing table based on the international identification information that has thus been acquired; and forwarding means that forwards said multimedia message to the forwarding destination of the domain name that has been acquired by said first acquisition means or said second acquisition means.
 2. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first routing table comprises information including the country code and the domain name of each operator specified by the operator code and information as to whether or not number portability is supported and said second decision means decides whether or not the forwarding destination operator supports number portability by searching said first routing table using as keys the country code information and operator code information in said transmission destination information.
 3. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first acquisition means acquires the domain name of the forwarding destination from country code information and operator code information in said transmission destination information.
 4. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second routing table comprises domain name information for each of the operators specified by the country code information and operator information and said second acquisition means acquires the forwarding destination domain name by searching said second routing table using as keys information identifying the country and information identifying the operator in said international identification information.
 5. A multimedia message service apparatus, comprising: a first decision apparatus that, after receiving a multimedia message that has been transmitted, determines if the message is to be transmitted internationally to a forwarding destination based on transmission destination information in the multimedia message; a second decision apparatus that, if the first decision apparatus determines that the message is to be transmitted internationally to the forwarding destination, references a first routing table based on the transmission destination information to determine if the forwarding destination supports number portability; a first acquisition apparatus that, if the second decision apparatus determines that the forwarding destination does not support number portability, acquires domain name of the forwarding destination using the transmission destination information and the first routing table; a second acquisition apparatus that, if the second decision apparatus determines that the forwarding destination does support number portability, acquires international identification information corresponding to the transmission destination information and acquires the domain name of the forwarding destination using the international identification information and a second routing table; and a forwarding apparatus that forwards the multimedia message to the forwarding destination using the domain name of the forwarding destination.
 6. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information identifying the forwarding destination includes a domain name.
 7. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first routing table includes country code information and domain name information of at least one operator specified by an operator code and information as to whether or not number portability is supported by the forwarding destination.
 8. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second decision apparatus determines whether or not the forwarding destination supports number portability by searching the first routing table using country code information and operator code information in the transmission destination information.
 9. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first acquisition apparatus acquires the information identifying the forwarding destination using country code information and operator code information in the transmission destination information.
 10. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second routing table includes domain name information for each operator specified by country code information and operator code information.
 11. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second acquisition apparatus acquires the information identifying the forwarding destination by searching the second routing table using information identifying the country and information identifying the operator in the international identification information.
 12. The multimedia message service apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second acquisition apparatus acquires the international identification information by querying a register that registers subscriber data.
 13. A method for servicing multimedia messages, comprising: receiving a multimedia message that has been transmitted; determining if the message is to be transmitted internationally to a forwarding destination based on transmission destination information in the multimedia message; if it is determined that the message is to be transmitted internationally to the forwarding destination, referencing a first routing table based on the transmission destination information to determine if the forwarding destination supports number portability; if it is determined that the forwarding destination does not support number portability, acquiring domain name of the forwarding destination using the transmission destination information and the first routing table; if it is determined that the forwarding destination does support number portability, acquiring international identification information corresponding to the transmission destination information and acquiring the domain name of the forwarding destination using the international identification information and a second routing table; and forwarding the multimedia message to the forwarding destination using the domain name of the forwarding destination or the international identification information.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the information identifying the forwarding destination includes a domain name.
 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first routing table includes country code information and domain name information of at least one operator specified by an operator code and information as to whether or not number portability is supported by the forwarding destination.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein determining whether or not the forwarding destination supports number portability includes searching the first routing table using country code information and operator code information in the transmission destination information.
 17. The method according to claim 13, wherein acquiring information identifying the forwarding destination using the transmission destination information and the first routing table includes using country code information and operator code information in the transmission destination information.
 18. The method according to claim 13, wherein the second routing table includes domain name information for each operator specified by country code information and operator code information.
 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein acquiring the information identifying the forwarding destination using the international identification information and the second routing table includes searching the second routing table using information identifying the country and information identifying the operator from the international identification information.
 20. The method according to claim 13, wherein acquiring the international identification information includes querying a register that registers subscriber data. 